Ciné chief: Big theaters edging out little guy on art house films

Monday

Nov 25, 2013 at 7:46 PM

Andre Gallant

The critically acclaimed - and brutally poignant - film "12 Years A Slave" opened at University 16 Cinemas in Oconee County early this month.

Ciné's regulars almost demanded that the film, an elegant example of the narratives expected to be screened at the theater, come to their beloved art house cinema, said executive director Gabe Wardell.

Wardell wanted to bring "12 Years A Slave" to Ciné, but he said the film's distributor refused to allow it.

Wardell wants to know why.

Fox Searchlight, the company distributing the film, was hoping to build an audience for the movie, considered a critical success but a tough commercial sell, at art house cinemas like Ciné, according to the Los Angeles Times. But in Athens, Ciné was left out of the plan.

All Wardell has been told by his contracted film booker is that Fox Searchlight gave University 16 exclusivity to screen "12 Years," meaning the theater's parent company had exclusive rights to show the film in the Athens area. Fox Searchlight wouldn't give any competing theater a copy of it. That included Ciné and any other theater wishing to show it except Beechwood, a theater owned by the same company as University 16.

Wardell contends that University 16 is not in competition with Ciné. He said the two theaters serve different markets: University 16 attracts a wider demographic sourced from multiple counties; Ciné pulls in students, professors and residents from the downtown periphery.

There's nothing illegal about what Fox Searchlight or Georgia Theatre Company, which operates University 16, is doing. A theater is making an investment by licensing the film, so it's reasonable for the theater to ask the distributor for exclusivity.

A lawsuit in California currently in discovery does pose a potential challenge to this current practice, but that doesn't help Wardell and Ciné.

It's a tale of David versus Goliath. Because it boasts hundreds of screens in multiple states throughout the South, Georgia Theatre Company can leverage its size to squeeze out small theaters like Ciné, Wardell contends. It's legal, but he thinks it's unnecessary.

Wardell believes Ciné can do better financially for the distributors of films like "12 Years," which is almost tailored for Ciné's art house crowd.

"(Clearances are) a common practice by the major chains," said Russell Collins, director of Art House Convergence, an annual industry conference for independent theaters like Ciné. "They have clout. They have many theaters in many parts of the country, so essentially they can effectively intimidate the distributors.

"It's a nefarious practice that dates back to film's early days, but I don't believe that it's relevant in any way."

Big theaters have enough market share that independent theaters don't threaten the chains' existence, Collins said. He added clearances, though legal, are meant to damage independents as a business, and there are many cases of it working. A small theater can fight back by changing its programming, threatening to sue or running a public relations campaign, Collins said, but with no guarantee of winning the battle.

"It's the fighting-city-hall syndrome," Collins said. "Even if you think you are in the right, pressing the point is expensive and complicated."

In the past, Wardell said, a film sought by Beechwood Cinemas, also owned by GTC, would trickle down to Ciné after two weeks. He also said Carmike Cinemas and Ciné have never battled over a film.

He said any sense of competition came after Carmike, Ciné and University 16 all screened "The Spectacular Now," directed by Athens native James Ponsoldt, this past summer. Wardell said Ciné outsold its competitors.

Wardell, who steps down from his position on Jan. 1, believes Ciné can outsell University 16 on specialty "art" films because the nonprofit theater boasts a built-in audience for such films. Movie-goers head to University 16 for "Thor," or Tom Hanks' latest vehicle. When it comes to independent films like "12 Years" or "The Spectacular Now," Ciné makes more money for the distributors, Wardell said.

He points to the recent Matthew McConaughey film "Mud." According to data provided to Wardell by his booker, Larry Thomas, Ciné's opening weekend for "Mud" outgrossed University 16 by $300, even though the larger theater screened the movie three weeks prior to Ciné.

"We are in a challenging position," Wardell said. "We know we can compete in the market if we get a chance. All we're asking for is fair competition."

The aforementioned California suit involves two theaters competing over box office smashes like "The Hunger Games," but Wardell said his fight is over smaller films, the types of storytelling tailored to Ciné's audience.

"We're not going after 'Thor,'" Wardell said. "We're not going after blockbusters. We should be able to open films (like '12 Years'), but we can't get answers (as to why we can't). All I want are answers."